Quality of Public Administration

487 Pages·2015·7.25 MB·English

Quality of Public
Administration
A Toolbox for
Practitioners
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A Toolbox for Practitioners
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015
ISBN 978-92-79-47451-4
doi:10.2767/38487
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Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Quality of Public Administration
A Toolbox for Practitioners
European Commission
Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Unit E.1
Manuscript completed in February 2015
QUALITY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – A TOOLBOX FOR PRACTITIONERS
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Why a Toolbox on Public Administration? . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Linking policy to funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
The foundation of socio-economic success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Readers’ Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The case studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Principles and values of good governance . . . . . . . . . . 17
What do we mean by ‘principles’ and ‘values’? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The value of stating and sharing values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
An amalgam of European principles and values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Introducing values into the administrative culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Theme 1: Better policy-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1 .1 . Qualities of good policy-making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.1.1. Policy design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
1.1.2. Forward planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
1.1.3. Consultation and co-responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
1 .2 . Instruments of policy implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
1.2.1. Laws and the regulatory environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
1.2.2. Institutional structures and reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
1.2.3. Co-production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
1 .3 . Continuous improvement and innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
1.3.1. Monitoring, evaluation and performance audit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
1.3.2. Encouraging external scrutiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
1.3.3. Fostering innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
1 .4 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . . 97
2
Theme 2: Embedding ethical
and anti-corruption practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
2 .1 . Establishing the policy framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
2.1.1. Ethical values and standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
2.1.2. Risk-based strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
2.1.3. Laws and regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
2.1.4. Coordinators and agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
2 .2 . Building public trust through transparency & accountability . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.2.1. Open government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
2.2.2. External scrutiny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
2 .3 . Promoting integrity and reducing the scope for corruption . . . . . . . . . . . 126
2.3.1. Human resources management and training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
2.3.2. Disclosure by public officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
2.3.3. Simplification, controls and automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
2 .4 . Detecting and acting on corruption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
2.4.1. Whistle-blowing mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
2.4.2. Investigation, prosecution and sanctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
2 .5 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . 142
Theme 3: Professional and well-functioning
institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
3 .1 . Managing for results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
3.1.1. Mission, vision and strategy development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
3.1.2. Monitoring, evaluation and learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
3.1.3. Accountability and communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
3 .2 . Professional leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
3.2.1. Creation of a Senior Civil Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
3.2.2. Recruitment, training and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
3.2.3. Managing change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
3 .3 . Modern human resources policy and management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
3.3.1. Managing competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
3.3.2. Recruitment and selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
3.3.3. Learning and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
3.3.4. Appraisal, promotion and career development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
3.3.5. Equality, positive discrimination and active ageing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198
3 .4 . Total quality management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
3.4.1. Using quality management models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
3.4.2. Stimulating a quality management culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
3 .5 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . 216
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QUALITY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – A TOOLBOX FOR PRACTITIONERS
Theme 4: Improving service delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
4 .1 . Understanding users’ needs and expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
4.1.1. Direct contact with citizens and businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
4.1.2. Indirect feedback and representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
4.1.3. Mystery shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
4.1.4. Life events and customer journey mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
4 .2 . Improving processes to benefit public service users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
4.2.1. Process re-engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
4.2.2. Administrative simplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
4 .3 . Meeting user expectations of easy access to services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
4.3.1. The one-stop shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
4.3.2. Multi-channel service delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
4 .4 . Using e-Government to access faster, cheaper, better services . . . . . . . 253
4.4.1. Information to interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
4.4.2. Interoperability and the ‘once only’ principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259
4.4.3. Moving towards digital by default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
4 .5 . Committing to service standards and measuring satisfaction . . . . . . . . 277
4.5.1. Service charters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277
4.5.2. Measuring and managing satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
4 .6 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . 285
Theme 5: Enhancing the business environment . . . 287
5 .1 . Putting business first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
5.1.1. Streamlining and simplifying ‘red tape’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
5.1.2. Business-centric administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
5 .2 . Streamlining administration for businesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
5.2.1. Starting a business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
5.2.2. Running and growing a business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
5.2.3. Trading across borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .326
5.2.4. Dealing with insolvency & second chance for honest entrepreneurs . . . . . . 330
5 .3 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . 336
4
Theme 6: Strengthening the quality of judicial systems . 339
6 .1 . Assessing and enhancing performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
6.1.1. Monitoring and evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
6.1.2. Consulting with court users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
6.1.3. Moving to total quality management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
6 .2 . Improving access to justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
6.2.1. Explaining court processes and decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .359
6.2.2. Ensuring access to case law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364
6.2.3. Increasing access to alternative dispute resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .369
6 .3 . Modernising justice systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
6.3.1. Re-designing processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374
6.3.2. Moving to e-Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377
6.3.3. Cross-border justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
6 .4 . Training and continuing professional development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
6.4.1. Training needs analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .386
6.4.2. Curricula and training plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387
6.4.3. Training methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
6.4.4. Training tools to apply EU law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393
6.4.5. Training assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .394
6 .5 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . 396
Theme 7: Managing public funds effectively . . . . . . 399
7 .1 . Public financial management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
7.1.1. Budget preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .405
7.1.2. Budget execution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .412
7 .2 . Public procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
7.2.1. Simplifying procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
7.2.2. Cross-border procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
7.2.3. E-Procurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430
7.2.4. Procurement for innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
7 .3 . Managing ESI Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
7.3.1. Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
7.3.2. Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
7.3.3. Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .454
7.3.4. Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .473
7 .4 . Conclusions, key messages and inspiration for future action . . . . . . . . . 474
5
QUALITY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – A TOOLBOX FOR PRACTITIONERS
Some Considerations on Managing
Thematic Objective 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
The problem with money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Managing the big picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Strategic projects or call for proposals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
What shall we do first? – prioritising and sequencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Monitoring and evaluating reforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Continuous learning and knowledge development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Key acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
6
Foreword
The quality of its institutions, both governmental and judicial, is a key determining factor for a country’s
well-being. Administrative capacity is increasingly recognised as a pre-requisite for delivering the EU’s
treaty obligations and objectives, such as creating sustainable growth and jobs.
Public authorities must be able to adjust to the dynamic and often disruptive changes in the economy
and society. In an increasingly ‘connected’ but uncertain world, policies and structures that have been
successful in the past might not be sufficient or appropriate to serve citizens and business in the
future. The ability to reflect today’s needs and to anticipate tomorrow’s, agile enough to adapt, have
to become permanent features of the public sector. Most of all, administrations must build on a solid
foundation: ethical, efficient, effective and accountable.
The EU supports Member States’ administrations to become fit for the future. During the European
Semester process, the European Commission reviews Member State administrations’ performance and
any underlying areas for improvement. The European Council adopts country-specific recommendations
on the basis of this analysis. The European Structural and Investment Funds have a dedicated thematic
objective for investing in the quality and capacity of public authorities. For the 2014-2020 period, it
is expected that eighteen Member States will invest at least EUR 4.7 billion from the European Social
Fund and the European Regional Development Fund for that purpose.
This EU Quality of Public Administration Toolbox aims to support, guide, encourage and inspire those
who want to build public administrations that will create prosperous, fair and resilient societies. The
Toolbox tries to help countries with addressing country-specific recommendations and with delivering
successful strategies and operational programmes. There is no panacea – one solution for all – to
building quality administrations, but we have sought to capture the various dimensions and complexities
and to make them easily accessible to the practitioner.
The Toolbox is not a new EU policy statement. The Toolbox brings together various existing EU policies
and international standards that concern the quality of public administration in any country. Most of
all, the application of principles and tools is illustrated with almost 170 case studies from Member
States and around the world.
This is not the end of the story, but rather a starting point. The Toolbox has been assembled and
published within a relatively tight timeframe, in order to start a dialogue and stimulate thinking. Given
the dynamic environment of public administration, it will need to evolve into an interactive tool, where
its contents can be discussed, updated, and co-created by users.
We expect the Toolbox to become a key instrument to manage, share and develop knowledge to enable
European authorities to design and deliver quality policies and public services. We hope that you find
valuable, inspiration and practical tools inside, and that you will join us on the Toolbox future journey.
Michel Servoz, Director-General for Employment,
Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
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QUALITY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – A TOOLBOX FOR PRACTITIONERS
Acknowledgements
The EU Quality of Public Administration Toolbox is a technical report of the European
Commission’s Inter-service Group on Institutional Capacity and Administrative
Reform. It is the result of an active collaboration and co-production of the following
services, which designed, steered and guided its structure and contents:
• Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT)
• Informatics (DIGIT)
• Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN)
• Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (EMPL)
• Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW)
• Human Resources and Security (HR)
• Justice and Consumers (JUST)
• Migration and Home Affairs (HOME)
• Regional and Urban Policy (REGIO)
• Research and Innovation (RTD)
• Health and Food Safety (SANTE)
• Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD)
The Toolbox was presented and discussed in several fora and to various stakeholder
audiences, including: a European Commission seminar on Modernising Public
Administration (1-2 October 2014); the SME Assembly (Naples, 2 October 2014);
the European Network for Public Administration (EUPAN) meeting under the
Italian EU Presidency (16-17 October 2014); the European Social Fund Committee
(17 October 2014); the eGovernment Expert Group (11 December 2014)
The Toolbox and its draft chapters further benefitted greatly from reviews and
comments by: DG EMPL’s counterparts in Member States; DG GROW’s Network of
SME Envoys; Benedict Wauters, Vladimir Kvača and the Community of Practice
for Results Based Management; Professor Gerhard Hammerschmidt, faculty and
research staff at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin; Professor John Bachtler
(European Policies Research Centre, Strathcylde University); and Professor Wouter
van Dooren (University of Antwerp).
Invaluable inputs were provided by public administrations in all 28 Member States,
especially by the key officials that took time out of their very busy schedules to
review, update and expand draft materials for the Toolbox’s case studies, and the
22 representatives from Member State administrations who provided feedback and
some detailed suggestions on the early drafts. Special thanks go to all those, who
made the Toolbox possible.
The work on the Toolbox was coordinated by the European Commission’s Directorate
General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, which engaged the services
of the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) for producing the Toolbox,
with Nick Thijs as the project manager and Iain Mackie as the main contributor.
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